Kent council area
Selling Land in Maidstone
Maidstone adopted its Local Plan Review in March 2024, yet by the summer of 2025 its planners were telling councillors the borough could no longer show five years of housing land. A delivery result of 93%, three large strategic sites that had yet to build a home in 2025, and a new plan already under way make the county town a place where well chosen land deserves a serious look.
- We pay for the planning, at our own cost and risk
- Your price is agreed up front, in writing
- If planning is refused, you keep your land and owe nothing
Maidstone Borough at a Glance
Maidstone Borough Council covers the county town and a large rural hinterland, with the villages of Harrietsham, Headcorn, Lenham, Marden, Staplehurst and Coxheath acting as its rural service centres. The River Medway flows through the borough, and the council treats the extent of its floodplain as one of the limits on where growth can go.
- A plan adopted in 2024. The Local Plan Review covers 2021 to 2038, and applications are decided against it today.
- Built around big sites. The plan relies on garden settlements at Heathlands and Lidsing, the redevelopment of Invicta Park Barracks and a broad location for growth at Lenham.
- A quarter of the borough in the Kent Downs. The council's submission draft of the plan put 27% of the borough inside the Kent Downs National Landscape.
- Very little Green Belt. The same document records just 1.3% of the borough as Metropolitan Green Belt, so the grey belt questions that dominate Sevenoaks rarely arise here.
- Part of the Stodmarsh story. Maidstone is one of five Kent districts where some new homes must prove they are nutrient neutral, to protect the wetlands at Stodmarsh.
The council has a recent plan and is not far from its delivery target, yet the homes that plan counts on are slow to arrive. That gap is where many edge of settlement sites find their argument.
Maidstone in Figures
The government's latest figures for the council, and where its local plan stands.
Housing Delivery Test 2025
93%
Below 95%: the council must publish an action plan to improve delivery.
Homes built against homes needed
2,784
of 3,000 needed, April 2022 to March 2025
Most recent strategic plan adopted
March 2024
The plan currently used to decide applications.
New plan progress
No recent stage listed
Check the council's website for its timetable.
Sources: Housing Delivery Test: 2025 measurement, MHCLG, published 17 August 2026; Local plans: monitoring progress, Planning Inspectorate, August 2026. Local plans move quickly, so always check the council's own website for the latest position.
A Good Delivery Score, a Short Land Supply
Two national measures decide how much room there is for land outside the plan, and in Maidstone they point in different directions. The Housing Delivery Test 2025 looks back at homes completed; the five-year supply looks forward at homes the council can show are deliverable.
| National trigger | What it does | Where Maidstone stands |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery below 95% | The council must publish an action plan explaining the shortfall and how it will improve | Applies, with a result of 93% |
| Delivery below 85% | A 20% buffer is added to the five-year supply calculation | Does not apply at present |
| Delivery below 75% | Unmet housing need is treated as proven for policy S5 | Does not apply at present |
| Supply under five years | The shortfall itself counts as evidence of unmet need under policy S5 | The council said in July 2025 that its supply had fallen below five years |
The fourth row matters most for land outside settlement boundaries. KentOnline reported in July 2025 that the council's head of planning told members the borough had shown 5.1 years on its 2023/24 figures, but that once the 5% buffer required by the December 2024 changes to national policy was added, supply dropped below five years.
Under the August 2026 framework, a field that is physically well related to a town or village, and whose homes the local roads, schools and drainage can absorb, can use that shortfall as its evidence of need. It still has to clear every other test, from landscape to flooding and access. Our guide to the 2026 NPPF explains how the unmet need route works step by step.
The Strategic Sites the Plan Depends On
Much of the plan's housing comes from a few very large schemes, and none had produced a home when the supply position was reported in July 2025.
- Heathlands. A garden settlement near Lenham with the potential for around 5,000 homes, planned around a new station on the Maidstone to Ashford line, and extending beyond the end of the plan period.
- Lidsing. Approximately 2,000 homes, some within the plan period and some beyond it, around the hamlet of Lidsing near Boxley, which KentOnline's report of the adoption debate described as an urban extension.
- Invicta Park Barracks. Around 1,300 homes on the barracks land, which the plan treats as a strategic site within the urban area.
- Lenham broad location. Further growth identified around Lenham, one of the rural service centres.
The plan was not an easy one to agree. Councillors adopted it by 31 votes to 21, with protesters opposed to both garden settlements and Kent County Council raising concerns about school places and roads. Members were warned that without it, supply would fall below four years from April 2024. It also shows why supply can fall short even with an up to date plan: when a few large schemes slip, the five-year calculation slips with them, and smaller sites that can reach first homes sooner fill the gap. Our page on paddocks and small sites sets out the kind of land that fits this role.
How the Borough's Settlements Are Ranked
The plan ranks settlements to decide how much growth each should take. The council's Regulation 19 draft, the version put forward for examination, set it out like this:
- Maidstone town. The county town and its urban area take the largest share, including regeneration and the Invicta Park site. A plot, yard or large garden inside the built-up area is judged under national policy S4, which starts from approval and allows refusal only where the adverse effects clearly and substantially exceed the benefits.
- Rural service centres. Harrietsham, Headcorn, Lenham, Marden, Staplehurst and Coxheath form the second tier. Land on their edges is the most natural candidate when supply is short, because the plan already accepts that these villages can grow.
- Larger villages. East Farleigh, Eyhorne Street in Hollingbourne parish, Sutton Valence and Yalding are expected to take more modest growth that suits their size.
- Smaller villages and open countryside. Here the plan protects rural character and aims to stop settlements merging, while allowing small scale rural employment. Homes are harder, although previously developed land and genuine infill have their own national routes.
The ranking is not a verdict on any one field, but it tells us how the council will weigh the scale of a scheme against the place it sits in.
Downs, Floodplain and the Stour Catchment
The Kent Downs Above the Town
A little over a quarter of the borough lies within the Kent Downs National Landscape. Large schemes inside it have to show exceptional circumstances, and fields beyond the boundary are judged on how they would look from the higher ground.
The Medway and Its Tributaries
The council's plan names the Medway floodplain as a constraint on growth, Fields in Flood Zones 2 and 3 face the sequential test, though a site with a wet margin can often keep its homes on the drier ground. Flood risk and development land explains how the zones and the tests work.
Stodmarsh Nutrients
Kent County Council lists Maidstone alongside Ashford, Canterbury, Folkestone and Hythe and Swale as districts where nutrient neutrality applies to homes in the Stodmarsh catchment. The county council says more than 7,000 homes across the five have been delayed, and in July 2026 it launched a fund backed by £9.8 million of government grant for wetlands and treatment works that will create mitigation credits. Whether it applies depends on where a field drains, so we check it at the start.
What We Are Watching in Maidstone
The Next Housing Delivery Test
The government publishes the test once a year. The latest, the Housing Delivery Test 2025, came out on 17 August 2026 and measures completions from April 2022 to March 2025. At 93%, Maidstone sits in the band that calls for an action plan and nothing more. If a later result fell below 85%, the 20% buffer would be added to a supply that the council has already said is under five years, widening the shortfall. A result below 75% would make unmet need automatic for policy S5, whatever the supply. The latest monitoring report on the council's site covers 2024/25, and we will read the next one for early signs.
The Five-Year Supply Statement
The council's monitoring page lists a housing land supply position as at 1 April 2025, and its July 2025 statement to councillors is the clearest public account of it. Progress at the strategic sites will move it, and so will the need figure. The plan was built on 1,157 homes a year. Once a plan passes five years old, supply is normally measured against the government's standard method instead, and KentOnline reported in April 2026 that the standard method now gives the borough about 1,400 homes a year.
The New Local Plan
The council's cabinet agreed in October 2025 to start a new Local Plan. Its call for sites closed on 23 August 2026, and the council says the timetable for the plan will be published in due course. KentOnline reported that officers expect the formal plan-making process to begin in April 2027 and that the new national system allows 30 months from start to finish.
West Kent Reorganisation, Paused
On 16 July 2026 ministers decided that Maidstone would join Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Malling and Tunbridge Wells in one of four new unitary councils, which the county council said would take over from April 2028. On the timetable reported, a successor council would have completed the new plan. On 7 September 2026, however, the government paused the Kent and Medway decision for a review, so Maidstone Borough Council remains the planning authority and the May 2027 elections are for existing seats. Officers have said they want to move early so that any successor inherits Maidstone's approach. A merged council would also inherit very different delivery records: Sevenoaks at 25%, Tonbridge and Malling at 63% and Tunbridge Wells at 93% in the same test.
What This Means for Timing
- Land that already sits well against a town or a rural service centre can be looked at now, on the current supply position, without waiting for the new plan.
- Larger holdings are usually better suited to the new plan, and the council will consult on sites at later stages even though the call for sites has closed.
- Land in the Stodmarsh catchment may find mitigation easier as the county fund creates credits.
- Any change in the supply or the test result can alter the case for an application, so we check the latest position first.
Our how it works page follows the process from our first look at your land to a decision, all of it at our cost.
Questions About Land in Maidstone
Maidstone has a plan from 2024. Can land outside it really get permission?
Sometimes. A recent plan carries weight, but when a council cannot show five years of housing land, national policy treats that shortfall as evidence of unmet need. A well related site that passes the landscape, flood and access tests can then be approved without an allocation.
Does a delivery result of 93% help or hurt my chances?
On its own it is neutral. It is high enough that the 20% buffer and the automatic unmet need route do not apply, but low enough that the council must publish an action plan. Here the supply position does more of the work.
My farm is near Lenham. Does Heathlands affect me?
It can do both. A new settlement with a station can make nearby land more sustainable in planning terms, but the council will also want to keep Heathlands and existing villages apart.
I missed the call for sites. Is it too late?
No. The call for sites is the first step of a plan that will take several years, and there are later consultation stages where land can be put forward. Some land suits an application now instead.
Will the move to a West Kent council change anything for me?
Not at present. The move is paused while the government reviews it, so Maidstone keeps deciding applications and the adopted plan stays in force until it is replaced. If a West Kent council does go ahead, it could be the body that finishes the new plan.
Tell Us About Your Land in Maidstone
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More in Kent
County overview
Selling Land in Kent
Selling land in Kent? Housing need council by council, the Green Belt and the nutrient rules, in plain English. We agree a price and pay for all the planning.
Housing Delivery Test: 57%
Selling Land in Folkestone and Hythe
Own land in Folkestone and Hythe? No Green Belt, a new plan starting and homes needed. We agree your price up front and pay for all the planning.
Housing Delivery Test: 61%
Selling Land in Gravesham
Own land in Gravesham? The council built 61% of the homes it needed and a new plan runs to 2042. We agree a price for your land and pay for the planning.
Housing Delivery Test: 60%
Selling Land in Medway
Own land in Medway? The council built 60% of the homes it needed and its new plan is at examination. We agree your price and pay for all the planning.
Housing Delivery Test: 25%
Selling Land in Sevenoaks
Own land in Sevenoaks District? The council built only 25% of the homes it needed, and grey belt is in play. We agree a price and pay for the planning.
Housing Delivery Test: 70%
Selling Land in Swale
Own land in Swale? No Green Belt and a final draft plan for over 17,000 homes to 2042. We agree your price up front and pay for all the planning work.
Housing Delivery Test: 70%
Selling Land in Thanet
Own land in Thanet? The council built 70% of the homes it needed and a new plan is starting. We agree a price for your land and pay for all the planning.
Housing Delivery Test: 63%
Selling Land in Tonbridge and Malling
Own land in Tonbridge and Malling? The government has directed a new plan to 2042, much of it on Green Belt. We agree a price and pay for the planning.
Housing Delivery Test: 75%
Selling Land in Ashford
Own land in Ashford? The council now counts only 3.16 years of housing land, well short of five. We agree your price and pay for all the planning.
Housing Delivery Test: 79%
Selling Land in Canterbury
Own land in Canterbury district? A final draft plan for 1,215 homes a year to 2043 is heading to examination. We agree your price and pay for all the planning.
Housing Delivery Test: 93%
Selling Land in Tunbridge Wells
Own land in Tunbridge Wells? About 70% of the borough is in the High Weald, and a plan review has begun. We agree your price and pay for all the planning.
Sources
- Maidstone Borough Council: Local Plan Review 2021 to 2038
- Maidstone Borough Council: Local Plan Review, Regulation 19 submission document (October 2021)
- Maidstone Borough Council: New Local Plan
- Maidstone Borough Council: Local plan monitoring and process documents
- KentOnline: Maidstone council approves Local Plan despite opposition to garden villages (March 2024)
- KentOnline: Maidstone council misses five-year housing target (July 2025)
- KentOnline: Maidstone council issues Call for Sites for 1,400 new homes each year (April 2026)
- Kent County Council: New fund launched to help unlock housing development in the Stodmarsh catchment (July 2026)
- Kent County Council: Ministers decide future shape of Kent and Medway's councils (July 2026)
- GOV.UK: Review of local government reorganisation launched (7 September 2026)
Figures on this page come from the Housing Delivery Test 2025 (published 17 August 2026) and the Planning Inspectorate's local plan monitoring to August 2026, with newer plan milestones checked on 24 September 2026. We update the page when new results or plan milestones are published. Planning positions change quickly, so always check the council's own website before relying on it.